Jevnikar, Zala; Obermajer, Natasa; Doljak, Bojan; Turk, Samo; Gobec, Stanislav; Svajger, Urban; Hailfinger, Stephan; Thome, Margot; Kos, Janko
Cathepsin X cleavage of the beta(2) integrin regulates talin-binding and LFA-1 affinity in T cells
JOURNAL OF LEUKOCYTE BIOLOGY, 90:99-109, JUL 2011

T cell migration, essential for immune surveillance and response, is mediated by the integrin LFA-1. CatX, a cysteine carboxypeptidase, is involved in the regulation of T cell migration by interaction with LFA-1. We show that sequential cleavage of C-terminal amino acids from the beta(2) cytoplasmic tail of LFA-1, by CatX, enhances binding of the adaptor protein talin to LFA-1 and triggers formation of the latter's high-affinity form. As shown by SPR analysis of peptides constituting the truncated beta(2) tail, the cleavage of three C-terminal amino acids by CatX resulted in a 1.6-fold increase of talin binding. Removal of one more amino acid resulted in a 2.5-fold increase over the intact tail. CatX cleavage increased talin-binding affinity to the MD but not the MP talin-binding site on the beta(2) tail. This was shown by molecular modeling of the beta(2) tail/talin F3 complex to be a result of conformational changes affecting primarily the distal-binding site. Analysis of LFA-1 by conformation-specific mAb showed that CatX modulates LFA-1 affinity, promoting formation of high-affinity from intermediate-affinity LFA-1 but not the initial activation of LFA-1 from a bent to extended form. CatX post-translational modifications may thus represent a mechanism of LFA-1 fine-tuning that enables the trafficking of T cells. J. Leukoc. Biol. 90: 99-109; 2011.

DOI:10.1189/jlb.1110622

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